Content to prioritize in intro psych

[Dazen]

Hi all!

I'm teaching one of our undergrad intro psychology sections this fall and am excited for my first real teaching experience. The way the course is set up, we have required chapters and optional chapters, from which each instructor can choose three. Here's what's in both categories:

Required:
Intro & History of Psych
Research Methods
Biological Bases
Learning
Social
Psychological Disorders
Treatment

Optional:
States of Consciousness
Sensation & Perception
Cognition & Intelligence
Memory
Personality
Emotion & Motivation

My initial instinct is to include Memory, because it can potentially support learning strategies throughout college, and Personality, because it's so frequently discussed in pop psychology that I'd like to dispel some rumors. I also primarily do personality research, so there's some personal interest driving the decision in addition to greater knowledge of the subject area. I could see States of Consciousness (especially the drug section) being especially interesting to undergrads. I also wonder whether it makes more sense to introduce more biological/low level topics like Sensation or Emotion first that could set the stage for future learning, or a more applied topic like Cognition that may be easier to grasp and understand its relevance.

What areas do you think are crucial to include in an intro psych course? How would you prioritize potential interest vs value of content? All advice appreciated!

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[WisNeuro]

in the Research Methods portion, there were some things I got good feedback on that i also found to be good skills/ways to look at things. I'd have them pick a piece of news that discussed mental health research, then we'd get the source article, and have them look at the actual findings vs. how it was reported on by a non-scientist.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

I was going to suggest something about propaganda/media and psych concepts that impact how viewers view and interact with the information.

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

I’d suggest a unit on political cults and/or how Nazis use propaganda & psych concepts to advance their agendas….but these might be too on the nose given today’s politics.

I wouldn’t want the current administration to kidnap, traffick, & sell you to a 3rd world prison bc of your lecture topic(s).

 

[R. Matey]

My votes for optionals are personality and intelligence. For personality, it'll give you a chance to dispel common personality myths that are popular in the cultural psyche (e.g., Jung, Myers-Briggs, Enneagram). Teaching intelligence/cognition would give you an opportunity to teach students how to acknowledge valid criticisms of the individual differences movement while also allowing for the utility of the concept, which is an exercise in critical thinking. Bonus points if you can include a lecture on intersection of cognition and emotion to show how these two processes don't exist in silos.